New Reese director sets sights on tapping research 'gold mine'

Tony Williams was introduced Wednesday as the new director of the Reese Redevelopment Au-thority, and he pledged to convert the former Air Force base into a world-class research facility.

Part of the base conversion includes disposing of unneeded property, and Tom Nichols, the authority's board chairman, said part of that goal has been accomplished in receiving commitments for all of the base's 232 vacant houses.

Williams, a Texas Tech graduate and Lubbock native, was chosen from a field of more than 100 applicants. He praised efforts to redevelop Reese as a research park and said the center is ahead of other base conversion projects.

''I believe there's a lot of opportunity with the research park vision,'' Williams said. ''This is a real gold mine on the ground here that can become a world-class facility.''

Williams becomes the second director at the former Air Force base, replacing Eddie McBride, who became president and chief executive of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce last month.

Williams left a position in Corpus Christi, where he had managed a government infrastructure contract for the Corpus Christi Army Depot at the Naval Air Station.

Reese closed in September 1997 after a congressional study recommended reducing the number of military installations across the country. In August, the 3,000-acre center was conveyed to the redevelopment authority from the U.S. Defense Department. The conveyance allows Reese Center to be subdivided and sold with less federal oversight to private investors .

Nichols said a nine-hole golf course managed by a private company is expected to be one of the first parcels sold. He also said purchase negotiations are continuing with Terry County officials for an air strip at the center.

Meanwhile, all of the base's pier-and-beam houses have been ''spoken for,'' Nichols said.

Municipalities from across West Texas are purchasing the homes to provide low-cost housing in their cities. Center spokesman Dale Gannaway said housing officials in Post, Jayton, Whiteface and Stratford are among those who have asked to purchase houses.

Gannaway said the homes are being sold for $6 a square foot, and most of the houses have 1,800-2,000 square feet of space. Reese could net $260,000 from selling the houses. The money likely will be used to maintain and operate the center.